Posts
a week has passed and we are past the halfway point. deacon james, ellise, and victoria has left us. their presence was so big that the team feels so small now.
i titled this post beautiful (saat in khmer) because 1. the song is stuck in my head (jesus is beautiful... and He makes beautiful things of my life) but also because God has shown me so much beauty throughout this trip. starting with you guys. i read your support letters and many of you said we have beautiful feet (how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news Romans 10:15) but you guys have beautiful hearts. i truly am touched and encouraged by your support, prayers, good wishes through fasting, seeing us off at the airport, buying us snacks for our journey, etc. knowing our entire church is praying for us really lifted so much of my anxiety and fears about this trip.
the land of Cambodia is so beautiful, with such luscious greenery. we visited Ankgor Wat this weekend and was in awe. the handcarved stones, held together soley by their own weight. the man-made moat was breathtaking. i could cry from the beauty.
this weekend, we also attended the children's worship service, and i was amazed to see many of our Contrak kids there! i was encouraged that God is working through NIBC and the long term missionaries. even during our prayer walk, i met a local family who asked what i was doing there. i told them i was teaching at NIBC, and they knew of it, asking if that was a church. God is slowly but surely changing lives in Cambodia.
the children of Cambodia are beautiful. beautifully adorable on the outside and beautifully unspoiled and bold on the inside. they joyfully and diligently help me to pick up trash, they finish eating everything on their plates, they run barefoot alone in the rain and open terrain and find grasshoppers as pets. they just love to laugh, sing, jump, cling, and play. i feel like they show me so much more love than i am showing them. they show me so much affection even though they don't know who i am. even though i don't speak their language, they don't stop running to me and embracing me.
thank you again for your prayers and support, here are some specific things to pray for:
prayer requests:
for us to trust in God's sovereignty in the saving of lives
that the children and people of Cambodia will come to know and love God
missionaries to be continually renewed and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, for more long term missionaries to serve in Cambodia, and for growth of their ministries
team building, praying, and lesson preparations, for energy, wisdom, and love in teaching and interacting with the kids
continued health and protection both spriritual and physical. the team is battling a mild bout of stomachache and illness, please pray for quick healing
sra lan (love),
nancy
Eun-Sook and I dueling inside Angkor Wat
Brian and Angie doing the same inside the Bayon Temple
one of the 4 (charity, compassion, sympathy, and equanimity) smiling faces of the Buddha at the gate of Angkor Tom
Reverend Ryan's thumb and teaching his students about the countries of the world at Contrak
a precious moments girl saying her prayers at Rainbow School
Contrak kids singing "Praise the Lord!"
Rev Ryan and I with some of our students at NIBC
the trees at Tonle Sap (largest lake in Southeast Asia) look flooded but actually will look normal as the monsoon season subsides
team sharing at the missionaries' home
the girls found an imaginary window atop one of the Hindu temples in Angkor Tom
beautiful children at Contrak
team with SK Lee in front of our hotel
beautiful sisters =)
and one of his favorite students holding his lil bro
one of our students running up the stairs at contrak
JP messing around with his favorite girl at contrak
student standing in the window of her home-- made out of banana leaves!
nekru (teacher) eun-sook with students at rainbow school
